SALARY TRENDSSingapore – Employers in Singapore are planning to raise salaries by 4.5% this year to help staff cope with rising inflation, a new survey has found.
Human resources consultancy firm Towers Watson revealed companies in the local financial services sector are budgeting for the greatest wage hike of 5.1%. This is followed closely by the pharmaceutical industry (5%), automotive (4.9%), chemical (4.8%), fast-moving consumer goods (4.5%), high-tech industry (4.4%) and energy sector (3.9%).
Across Asia Pacific, other employers share similar sentiments. Respondents in more developed countries say they are budgeting salary increases of about 3% to 5%, and those in emerging markets are projecting an increase of about 6% to 12%.
The survey noted respondents in Vietnam and India are budgeting the highest increase of 12.2% and 11.5% respectively, while Japanese respondents are planning the lowest increase (2.6%).
"When employees grapple with the rising cost of living, they naturally look to receive higher pay from current employers or look for alternative jobs which could offer higher compensation,” Rachelle C Arcebal, Towers Watson's global data services practice leader for Asia Pacific, said.
"Companies need to be able to find the balance between meeting these expectations and practising prudent financial planning. While it is important to keep wages competitive and retain talent, it is also imperative that compensation levels do not increase to unsustainable levels."
The survey polled employers in 18 countries including Singapore, between February and March.
_______________________________________________________________________________
To subscribe to Human Resources' monthly print magazines and daily online newsletters, please go to http://www.humanresourcesonline.net/subscribe/
To get the latest HR news to your desktop or mobile, follow Human Resources on Twitter and Facebook
To view exclusive HRTV videos and commentary on HR issues, visit The Office Snitch
More quality Lighthouse titles
Get your marketing department up to speed with Asia's most read marketing site
marketing-interactive.com
Want to get on the right side of the procurement department?
Direct them to
Procurement Asia 
